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Justice for Marlys

A Family’s Twenty Year Search for a Killer

2006

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Author:

John S. Munday

The true story of one family’s unrelenting search for their daughter’s murderer—as seen on 48 Hours

At once a gripping story and an in-depth look at the grief of losing a child, Justice for Marlys relates the true account of a serial killer, Joseph Ture Jr., who brutally murdered Marlys Wohlenhaus in her own home. John S. Munday recounts how Marlys’s case was solved through the efforts of the victim’s tenacious family, supportive news media, and persistent investigators.

As good a read as the best detective novel, only more horrifying.

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Minnesota Law and Politics

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Marlys Wohlenhaus was an animated, energetic eighteen-year-old girl. Then, one afternoon, everything changed. She should have been safe working at the town restaurant. She should have been safe in her own home. She should still be alive today. But in May 1979, Marlys became the victim in every parent’s most horrific nightmare.

At once a gripping story and an in-depth look at the grief of losing a child, Justice for Marlys relates the true account of a serial killer, Joseph Ture Jr., who slipped past the law again and again during a three-year-long crime spree. It was Ture who brutally murdered Marlys Wohlenhaus in her own home. John S. Munday, the husband of Marlys’s mother, reconstructs the murder and the seventeen-year investigation that led to the capture and conviction of Ture, allowing the reader to explore the horror, obsession, dedication, and finally the peace that he and his wife experienced in the search for and eventual conviction of her daughter’s killer.

Justice for Marlys generates suspense and sympathy as Munday recounts how Marlys’s case was solved through the efforts of the victim’s tenacious family, supportive news media, and persistent investigators. Munday gives readers a terrifying sense of the unimaginable grief and despair in the hearts of those who lose a child, yet he also shares his intensely personal exploration of the resilience and power within the human spirit.

John S. Munday is an intellectual property attorney who lives with his wife Fran in Isanti County, Minnesota. He is also the author of Surviving the Death of a Child, a contributing editor for Grief Digest, and a member of the board of directors of the Other Side Magazine.

As good a read as the best detective novel, only more horrifying.

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Minnesota Law and Politics

The women who came forward convinced Everett Doolittle he did have the right man, that Joe Ture killed Marlys Wohlenhaus, also a waitress. But Doolittle didn’t have enough evidence to convince a jury until yet another witness came forward after watching 48 Hours.

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Erin Moriarty, reporting for 48 Hours

Justice for Marlys is listed as true crime/grief/regional, but it’s much more than these categories denote. The book represents twenty years of a family’s struggle with fear and overwhelming grief, and a tenacious search for justice.

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A View from the Loft

An in-depth look at the grief associated with losing a child and the dedication they showed in making sure her killer was found.

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St. Cloud Times

Contents

Preface

Part I. Murder

1. A Place in the Country
2. A Butterfly Is Crushed
3. A Long Way to Fall
4. The Investigation Begins
5. Killing Chickens Wasn’t Enough
6. God, Why Are You Punishing Me?
7. The Crime Spree Continues

Part II. Grief

8. The First Exile
9. Out of His Own Mouth
10. If I Can’t Have Marlys Back

Part III. Reviving the Investigation

11. Seeking Justice Now
12. Beginning to Participate
13. 48 Hours, Finally
14. Who Was Watching
15. Did You Know the Wohlenhaus Girl?

Part IV. Justice

16. In the Presence of Evil
17. Sick and Tired of Bad News
18. A Courthouse, Not a Hall of Justice
19. What Is Our Reply to Evil?